


branded

by yellowsunx



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-30
Packaged: 2019-02-08 22:06:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12874002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yellowsunx/pseuds/yellowsunx
Summary: AU | Imprinted with a collection of letters and symbols that had no significant meaning intrigued Betty Cooper for many years. Now, the small town of Riverdale, would only further throw the blonde into a hunt to discover its' true meaning.





	branded

**Author's Note:**

> I originally started this story on my personal Fanfiction account, but since gaining an invitation to AO3, I decided to move it to here. Since I am new to the fandom and site, any comments or criticism is greatly appreciated!

**CHAPTER I**

* * *

 

A sharp pain in her left wrist jolted the blonde awake from her deep slumber. Her body continued to writhe in pain – it almost felt as if someone was branding her wrist with an iron. One would assume that the young woman would be running to the nearest clinic to get it checked out, however this would not be the first instance of inexplicable pain occurring within her.

After the pain had ceased, her eyes fully opened, revealing a pair of deep emerald pupils. Her first instinct was to inspect her wrist, and surely enough, there was a new mark staring back at her. Her right hand came across her upper body to grasp the left wrist. The first touch resulted in another wince, so she opted to lightly trace the new addition.

Her eyes examined the shape and with a small exhale, “FP III.”

Her mind began to race, tracing back her recent memories, but she had no luck in determining what these symbols were alluding to. Last night, there was only ‘FP II’ written on her wrist, and with the sudden addition of the third ‘I’, she was even more confused as to why this was happening.

The blonde’s thoughts slowly brought back a memory from five years ago, the first time any of it began to appear on her arm. She had been playing volleyball with her sister, Polly, in their backyard. Assuming she had bumped the volleyball in awkward manner, she had left to ice it for the rest of the evening. It had been sore for a week, with intense and sharp pain shooting every now and then. She was pretty close to asking her mom to take her to the clinic, but chose against it – instead choosing to wrap it in some protective gauze. After the seventh day, she had unwrapped the bandage to discover the tiny ‘F’ now etched onto her skin. Once the initial shock wore off, she rummaged around the garage to locate the volleyball that was used during the day in the backyard. She was even more perplexed to discover that there was no ‘F’ at all on the ball. She continued to retrace her steps from the past week to find any connection to the imprint in her arm.

Five years ago, this process had been introduced in her life, and every year from that, a new symbol appeared. It always happened around the start of a school year, and she assumed that this year was no different. However, as intriguing the case was, it often led to dead ends – based on the amount of Google searches that ultimately ended up nowhere.

At this point, Betty was not worried about it, mostly found it as an annoying occurrence. On her wrist, it looked as if it were one of those white-ink tattoos – which she had never been in favour of, much less any tattoo. For the most part it had gone unnoticed during the years, however it had gotten flack in the past year and a half.

Polly Cooper, her perfect sister, succumbed to the trend of teenage pregnancy. It shifted the entire dynamic within the Cooper household, which eventually led to her sister moving out. After the entire mess, her parents took it upon themselves to become even more over-bearing, as if it were even possible.

Betty finally took a hit from it, when a good-souled teacher from her previous high school had noticed the symbols on her wrist. Unfortunately, the teacher had jumped to the conclusion that Betty Cooper had fallen victim to depression, and was turning to self-harm as a way to cope with her issues. This resulted in her parents being called to meet her Principal, who then informed her parents of the supposed condition.

Despite Betty explaining to her parents that she was not suffering from depression, nor harming herself in any manner, they forced her into therapy. In a way, she did have the teacher to thank, because her therapy sessions did open up many issues that she had buried within her unconscious state. She had discovered that she was teetering into bipolar disorder, which may have resulted with her family dynamic. At the same time, her therapist did acknowledge that she was not self-harming as the marks on her wrist did not seem to resemble the cases that often had that outcome. Therefore, her parents were able to get off her back on that one.

Despite therapy having positive reactions on her personal life, her school life began to suffer. Word had begun to spread that Betty was a ‘depressed loner’ and people began to gave her pity looks. Before the mess even came about, Betty often kept to herself. She was a straight A student, and her classmates often talked to her about schoolwork, but she was certainly not getting invited to parties. That role had been secured by Polly, who was even Captain of the cheerleading team, before getting knocked up.

The comments made about her had began to impact her, and before she knew it, the therapy sessions were starting to help with those inward issues that had bottled up within her. She began to feel as if there was something wrong with her, and that the symbols on her wrist were an indication of that.

Therefore, after a rough Junior year, her family opted to pack up and start anew. It just so happened that her mother, Alice Cooper, had grown up in a small town called, Riverdale. Her parents continued to be overbearing, but Betty began to view it as them actually caring – so she was very reciprocal of their care.

Now, here she was, in her old bed but in a new room, a new house, a new neighborhood – a new everything. Her family had unpacked and moved everything into their new house yesterday, which ended up consuming their entire first day in Riverdale. Her body was sore and aching, however Betty was glad that everything was completed.

Taking one last look at her new ‘tattoo’, she pushed the comforter off of her body. Glancing at her clock, she was surprised to view that it was only 8AM. Focusing on her new surroundings, she could hear the bustle downstairs, meaning that her parents were up and already beginning their day. Grabbing her towel that hung at the edge of her bedpost, she hurriedly jumped into the shower.

* * *

 

Throwing her hair into a loose bun, Betty descended down the stairs, now coming into the view of Alice and Hal Cooper. 

“Good morning Betty.” Her mother greeted while setting the table. 

Betty simply offered a soft smile as she walked over to assist in the rest of the set up. Her father followed in with the last of the bacon, before the trio all sat in their respective spots.

Hal cleared his throat, “How was your sleep?” 

“It was alright,” Betty answered in between bites. “Definitely much quieter here.” 

Betty did not really know how to describe her relationship with her parents. She was extremely grateful for their sacrifice and allowing her to start new in Riverdale, however it always seemed as if they were always walking on eggshells around her. A part of her blamed herself for being so sensitive to the bullies that had tormented her through her early high school years, however that was one comment her therapist assured her as not being her fault. 

“Any plans for today?” Alice’s voice broke through Betty’s thoughts.

Betty paused for a moment, not really sure on how to respond.

“Perhaps I could venture out into the town, get a feel for what it’s like here. Considering that classes are already tomorrow, maybe I could map out my bus schedule or the path to take if I decide to walk to class.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Hal offers with a smile. “If you want, you could also stop by the Riverdale Register. Your mom and I officially get the keys today, and we plan on modernizing it before we begin printing.”

Betty nods her head, and the Cooper continued to eat in silence for the rest of the meal.

* * *

As discussed with her parents, Betty set out to explore her new surroundings. Stepping out of her front door, she released her hair from her loose bun, which now resulted in her golden locks drying out into a soft wave. 

Her first stop, she decided, would be to locate her new high school, Riverdale High. According to Google Maps, it was only a 20-minute walk from her home. Since the weather was beautiful, she decided to make the trek to the school. To her luck, she would be passing a park each time she walked. She definitely lacked a lot of the outdoors from her last home, as their family was situated in a city. The small-town feel was exactly what she needed; it was a breath of fresh air. 

Cutting the time to fifteen minutes, she encountered the brown-bricked building, the sign ‘RIVERDALE HIGH, Home of the Bulldogs’ front and center.

‘ _It seems normal._ ’ She thought to herself. 

Since it was Sunday, the school would probably not be open, but she was at least happy to know that it was not that far from her home. Looking around the surroundings, she noticed more and more houses around the school. The suburban lifestyle was a clear contrast to her previous living standards, even including her parents’ lifestyles. Despite Alice growing up in Riverdale, she had grown accustomed to the hustle and bustle of living in a bigger city. Both of her parents worked at fast-paced journalist jobs, and now they were a proud owner of their own newspaper, the Riverdale Register.

Continuing to walk down the street, she began to encounter all the other shops that was encompassed within the small town. Everything was so close together, and already some citizens had taken notice of her. Considering that it was a small town, she assumed that everyone knew one another, therefore her entrance into Riverdale would definitely be noticed.

Betty, ever the polite individual, just offered soft smiles to the new faces. In turn, they returned smiles or small nods. 

‘ _So far, so good._ ’ 

Her interest was further piqued when she came full view in front of Riverdale’s Public Library. Smiling inwardly, she approached the front door and was even happier to know that they were open. 

Stepping inside, the smell of books hit her nose and for the first time, she finally felt at home. Back when Polly was still living with them, they had shared a small collection of books. Betty would never call it a library, but the collective was very special to her. When Polly left, she had taken many of the books along with her, leaving Betty with some very worn out copies of certain novels. Libraries also served as a solace for her during her rough year, as she would have often gone to the library to do some homework or to find peace and quiet.

The librarian did not seem to pay much attention to her, as Betty began to slip in and out of the different aisles. Her eyes began to spot certain books that she would want to read, making mental notes of what she will be checking out in the upcoming weeks.

Glancing briefly at her watch, it was now half-past 11, and she had agreed to swing by the Register around 2 to assist her parents with cleaning it up a bit. Therefore, she had some time to kill. Chewing on her bottom lip, she grabbed a book about the history of Riverdale. Tracing the spine of the book, it seemed to intrigue her and she decided to read it. 

Propping herself onto the nearest couch, she opened it up and began to read. It was interesting to get to know the town more, as she now would not feel as much of an outsider.

* * *

 After flipping through many of the pages, her stomach let out a quiet grumble. Looking at her watch once more, she noticed that it was nearing 1. Standing up from the seat, her attention moved to an individual that was now speaking to the librarian. 

“I’m sorry Agnes, I think I forgot the last book at home,” The figure began rifling through his bag. “I’ll bring it first thing tomorrow, but I’m running a bit late for my shift.” 

Agnes only offered an understanding nod, “Don’t worry about it, just return it tomorrow.” 

“You are an angel.” 

And with that, the figure turned swiftly on his foot and collided into Betty who was in the process of stepping out of an aisle. 

Betty felt as if the wind were knocked out of her as her green eyes connected to a pair of deep blue ones. After a mutter of an apology, the individual disappeared through the doors, leaving Betty to her own thoughts.

A nauseous feeling came upon Betty – something she could not quite explain. Figuring it was coming from the smell of some dusty books within the library, she decided to leave.

The scent of fresh air hit her nose and she expected to feel a rush of relief, only to be hit with an extremely painful headache.

Maybe the suburban lifestyle wasn’t for her.


End file.
